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History of Thay
-8350 Imaskari tribes settle in the Raurin Desert area. ;-4370 : Plague decimates Imaskari tribes. ; -4366 : Twin portals created to abduct slaves; barrier erected to block their gods. ; -2489 : Gods send avatars; slave revolt begins. ; -2488 : Imaskari Empire falls; Raurin Desert created. ; -2135 : Skuld founded, becoming the capital of Mulhorand. ; -2087 : Unthalass founded, becoming the capital of Unther. ; -1967 : First Unther-Mulhorandi war begins. ; -1087 : Thayd leads revolt against Mulhorand and Unther. ; -1081 : Thayd and his conspirators are defeated. ; -1075 : The Orcgate Wars begin in Thayan region. ; -1069 : The Orcgate is destroyed and remaining orcs are defeated in the Priador. ; -970 : Nentyarch builds capital, starts uniting Nar kingdoms. : -946 : All Nar kingdoms united in the empire of Narfell. ; -900 : Nar and Raumathari Empires rise to prominence. -623 to -160 War between Narfell and Raumathar -160 Narfell and Raumathar destroy each other. Eltab summoned; demoncysts appear. -148 Eltab claims Rashemen for himself. -135 Mulhorandi found Kensten, modern Bezantur. -105 Illuskan tribe, the berserking Rus, arrived in eastern Faerun via malfunctioning portal. -75 Rashemen liberated by alliance of Rashemi, Rus, and Raumviran witches; Eltab bound in Sharawood. 106 Followers of Myrkul discover and deal with Eltab; found Eltabranar. 202 Eltab defeated in battle with Mulhorand and bound beneath Thaymount. 211 Eltabranar population forced to flee as Mulhorand and Unther reclaim territory 922 Sacking of Delhumide. Eltab freed by Jorgmacdon to fight in the battle of Thazalhar. Thay declared independent. 923 The demon Eltab is bound beneath Eltabbar. 934 Red Wizards try to invade Rashemen via Gorge of Gauros; fail. 976 Mulhorandi invasion of Thay repelled. 1030 Zulkirs established as rulers of Thay. 1074 Zulkirs crush last opposition to their rule. 1086 Thay captures Nethjet and Nethentir. 1098 Thayan invasion of Mulhorand fails. 1110 Thay marches on Phent; fails. 1194 Thay’s first invasion of Aglarond. 1197 Thayans attack Aglarond; driven back. 1260 Aglarond launches invasion of Thay; fails. 1280 Thay launches invasion of Mulhorand that ravages Murghom. 1294 Antek Valgon born. 1298 Falda Csittanko born. 1306 Boris Valgon born. 1307 Gulyas Valgon born. Arkhod Volkos born. 1308 Vadalma Valgon born. Derogna Shanived born. 1317 Lee’voth Valgon born. 1318 Imourad Valgon born. 1319 Zelsea Valgon born. 1320 Great Inner Sea Plague ravages coast; Thay withdraws from Wizard’s Reach to escape it. Cezria Indolf born. 1323 Zulkir of enchantment leads plan to control influential people via dreams; fails. Halav Kallos born. 1328 Fury Valgon born. 1329 Ivistra Gallegos born. Othilla Valgon born. 1330 E’luaz Eremal born. 1335 Boris sacrifices his firstborn son the day of the child’s birth (name unknown). 1336 A limnic eruption occurs in Lake Thaylambar; Falda is suffocated. 1337 Balogh Valgon born. 1339 Samas Kul becomes Master of the Guild of Foreign Trade, a minor post at the time. Berach Valgon born. 1342 Rayek Valgon born. 1344 First Thayan enclaves created, starting in Procampur. Arkhod killed on a diplomatic mission to help set up an enclave. 1347 Ulkar Valgon born. Antek dies in a magical “accident,” along with his heir, Lee’voth. 1348 Othilla and E’luaz marry; Azonia Valgon born. Repairs finished on damaged sections of the house. 1349 Gelina Rhaenys born. 1350 Miklos Valgon born. 1351 Nauthira Valgon born. 1354 Kano Valgon born. Derogna Valgon dies. 1356 Isa Valgon born. 1357 Jera Valgon born; Ulkar tested for arcane aptitude. Thay sends an army of elementals to bring Escalant, Murbant, and Thasselen to heel; called the Salamander War. Balogh Valgon dies in battle. Halav Kallos vanishes on a mission and never returns. 1358 Time of Troubles. Imaskari planar barrier dissolved by Ao; Mulhorandi deities leave. 1359 Tuigan Horde invades Thay. Szass Tam negotiates a truce. Horde allowed to pass through Thay. Berach Valgon goes to “guide” horde out with his wife and never returns. 1360 Ulkar Valgon is sent to the wizard academy, albeit several years late. 1362 Ivistra Valgon runs away with her lover, Enim Thullos. They are apprehended and summarily executed by her husband. The story is given that she was kidnapped and killed, with due vengeance given. 1364 Gulyas Valgon dies in flagrante delicto. 1365 Fury marries Gelina Rhyn. 1366 Salia Valgon born. 1368 Enclaves open in Cimbar, Phsant, Proskur, Tsurlagol. Vadalma Valgon dies of old age. Ulkar is accepted back at home. 1369 The island called the Ship of the Gods explodes, causing tidal waves that swamp Alaor and Bezantur. Mulhorhand briefly seizes the Alaor. Thay attacks Aglarond in winter. 1370 Thay retakes the Alaor. Enclaves open in Westgate and Selgaunt. Dmitra Flass weds Selfaril, High Blade of Mulmaster. 1371 Mulhorand launches invasion of Unther; Red Wizards funnel gold and magic into Unther to oppose Mulhorand. 1374 Jera Valgon forcibly impregnated by a summoned entity. Thurisa Valgon born. 1375 Starting year of the campaign, Year of the Risen ElfkinThe armies of Thay have marched on Aglarond and Rashemen many times and folk fear that the time will soon come when the Zulkirs mobilize again. On the reverse, few invaders have ever overcome the great mountains girding the Plateau of Thay, and the secretive and suspicious Red Wizards raise barriers just as formidable to discourage travelers from venturing into their lands. The zulkirs began as Thayd’s inner circle of trusted “loyals” (in their hearts, most of them were anything but, but only one—Ilkrim Hlannadar, better known to Thayan folklore as “the Dragondevoured,” thanks to Thayd’s swift and ruthless reaction to his treachery—ever dared defy him openly). These “loyals” served the founder of Thay as his personal lieutenants, who led Thayan warbands, acted as his messengers, enforcers, and assassins, and helped keep Thayd the dominant wizard in the northern lands wrested from Mulhorand and Unther, and home to many independent mages of power, until the realm of Thay was consolidated. Originally there were seven zulkirs, then six and five through battle losses. It was only after the death of Thayd that their numbers became set, and linked to specific “schools” of wizardry. When Thayd fell, a bitter struggle for power followed, in which scores of ambitious wizards perished. Eventually the survivors, brought to reluctant obedience by threat of being trapped in the “Escalthar’s Everlasting Curse” spell that would shapechange them every few breaths, uncontrollably, for the rest of their lives, met with the wizard Escalthar (who had devised that spell, and cast it upon most of those survivors) atop Laltharr, a bare crag (later blasted to rubble in a spell-duel) in southwestern Thay. This moot later became known as the Council of the Black Star (after the black star mage-sigil used by Escalthar). At the Council it was agreed that there would eight zulkirs, each of them a master of a school of wizardry: Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation. (Over the years, the zulkirs of Thay have been almost exclusively Thayan, and male humans, but no zulkirate has any formal requirements of residency, race, or gender.) Outsiders have been told different wild tales about this or that zulkir, or how the ruling structure of Thay came about, but this is—so far as Mystra has confirmed—the truth. Elminster and Khelben believe they have uncovered evidence that Escalthar—who mysteriously vanished, shortly after the Council, and has never been seen since (though there are many rumors and fear-whispered tales, down the years since, of his being seen by dying Red Wizards or watching crucial events in the unfolding governance of Thay) was either the god Azuth in disguise, or a pawn of Azuth at the time of the Council, but neither Azuth nor Mystra will confirm this. According to the Old Mage, the two deities, whenever asked about such matters, “merely smile.” Only Szass Tam has held office (formally, “zulkirate,” though this term has been rarely used in the last two centuries) among the zulkirs in any consistent manner since 1300. The “First Zulkirate” or initial eight zulkirs, appointed at the Council in the autumn of 1030 DR, were: Hahlomede Teeos (Abjuration): known as “Blackwyrm” for his everpresent tattered black robes and cloaks, that rendered him immune to dragon attacks and made dragons actively avoid him, Teeos loved to act mysterious and to track down lost treasures, old magics, and deceptions, this last sort of hunting quickly making him very unpopular with many Thayans; he became the feared, tireless, and increasingly hated “investigator” of the First Zulkirate Tlantros Tulhoond (Conjuration): an aloof, private man who feared attack at all times, and was therefore always ready for battle, with schemes and “hanging” spells galore ready as both defenses and deterrents, in addition to the monsters he could magically whisk from elsewhere to his side; a sophisticated lover of music, wines, subtle behaviour, and “refinement” who opposed Thay’s ever-greater reliance on slavery and the plundering of its resources at the expense of rejuvenating the land (he hated mines and quarries, preferring that Thay take what it needed from other lands by conquest or magical seizure and transportation) Zarhandro Laeluth (Enchantment): a fat, jovial man who deceived his fellow zulkirs—and everyone else he had any contact with, in life—as much as possible; made frequent use of doubles to make it appear that he was in one place while he was busy in another; often bubbled with gleeful laughter as he tricked or slew or took cruel revenges; trusted by very few, and feared by many, especially tharchions (whom he was known to have personally slain scores of, over the unfolding years, many by torture); a hedonist who loved exotic foods and long, gluttonous feasts Dlueae Sharshyndree (Evocation): the first female zulkir, Dlueae “Dul-LOO-ay” was a curvaceous woman with a melodious voice and alluring walk—who also had a coarse-featured and mannish face; she “had to shave like a man” and had acquired several disfiguring facial scars in her youthful adventuring career, and as a result customarily hid her face behind full head masks, which she sometimes augmented with a warrior’s battle-helm; a bold and calm battle-leader and a good tactician, she served Thay well in warfare and built ever-increasing influence over her fellow zulkirs, both by taking them as lovers and befriending them with aid and assistance for their personal projects, and by often stating and refining successful policies for Thay that she got her fellow zulkirs to support (and that they therefore took pride in); a mediator and peacemaker among her fellow zulkirs Yaerind Mahl (Illusion): an inscrutable man of few words and fewer direct answers, stances, or clear statements, who customarily cloaked his true appearance with magical disguises, and preferred to spend much time roaming Thay appearing as various creatures, to spy and learn (and sometimes strike down treachery—which he widely defined as “anything he disliked”—where and when he found it); was the first zulkir to force many apprentices and dupes to pretend to be him, so they perished in attacks meant to slay him, so he could strike down those who’d thought they’d killed the Zulkir of Illusion; possessed a pair of golden lions (figurines of wondrous power) that hunted and slew at his command Tarabbas Mroound (Necromancy): a tall, sardonic, cadaver-thin man who “disappeared into bones” at will, and apparently did so permanently, soon after being named zulkir, apparently of his own volition and not due to any attack launched by a rival or would-be successor; many Thayan night-rumors insist he lives on, still, watching over Thay and covertly bringing misfortune to those he dislikes, whilst aiding those he favors Kulvur Naraelond (Transmutation): a sly, witty, smart-mouthed trickster of a man, handsome and acrobatic, who was trusted by few; most men loathed him, and most women found him irresistible; a hedonist who seemingly cared more for enjoyment of food, drink, lovemaking, and diversions—even elaborate pranks—more than anything else in life; made many foes very quickly, and did not last long in office (or life) The only complete roster of the zulkirate known to outlanders (non-Thayans) after the First Zulkirate but before the 1350s DR, comes from an anonymous slave’s account, TWELVE WINTERS UNDER THE LASH, that was smuggled out of Thay in late 1300 DR. It gives a partial roster of the zulkirate, as follows: Eldryn Lammaraster (Abjuration): an old, bitter, grim pessimist who saw treachery and would-be successors around ever corner, in every shadow, and behind every door—and prepared himself accordingly, between manyfold layers of defensive magics; his specialty was spells—many of which died with him—that had nasty counter-attacks built into them, triggered by their defensive activation and not by the caster having to trigger them Balineth Skroun (Conjuration): a toad-faced, forbidding man who used intimidation and prepared “stage tricks” of magic to cow many a rival or defiant underling, Skroun hid well his deep love of Thay and his real loyalty to his fellow zulkirs; over time, became as trusted by his fellow zulkirs as any holder of a zulkirate has ever been, and with good reason; a true “team player” who looked ahead and acted for the betterment of Thay, beneath a surly public mask Iyrith Telgahlagar (Enchantment): described as a darkly handsome, bearded man who was urbane, soft-spoken, and a master strategist and diplomat, the most dominant of the zulkirs through his skilled forging of alliances with his fellow zulkirs and among the tharchions and tharchionesses; ruthless in slaying rivals who act against him, often through spells delivered by bats that fly under his direction; once described by a Red Wizard as “Asmodeus among us,” and probably the closest of any individual to being the true ruler of Thay, at the time Uldreth Korroth (Evocation): a grossly fat, lewd, aggressive man known for having layer upon layer of backup spells and schemes, and for being a jovial friend to all zulkirs, and a cruel, ruthless trickster to tharchions, tharchionesses, and all Thayans of lower station whom he had contact with; enjoyed frequent personal slayings of the “spectacular butchery” sort Mahlind Yarrr (Transmutation): a short, dark-haired, slender man of very few words, who always dressed in crimson robes and was very efficient and a master of foreseeing or anticipating events, treacheries against him, and likely outcomes, and preparing for them; almost always on the “winning side” in policy disputes among the zulkirs, who made few fierce foes and enriched himself greatly with trade outside Thay involving manipulated agents and dupes, in sales of drugs and gems, and prostitution In 1375 DR, Szass Tam set in motion a series of events such as the murder of the zulkirs of Transmutation, Druxus Rhym, and Evocation, Aznar Thrul, crafting an undead army with the atropal, Xingax, from the bodies of slaves and prisoners of war, portraying a failed unauthorized Thayan invasion on a Rashemi town by the Tharchions, Azhir Kren and Homen Odesseiron, as a Rashemi invasion onto Thayan soil stopped by the great casualties of Thayan soldiers and his 'timely' rescue of the invading force. All of these actions created a climate of fear within the nation of the Red Wizards and endearing him to the people as a savior that could end the country's woes. His plot was uncovered by his former confidant Dmitra Flass, who put the puzzle together and alerted the remaining zulkirs, obviously excluding the lich. When Szass tam proposed to make himself 'temporary regent' to end all the suffering of the nation and crush the undead forces and other such troubles, the five of the six zulkirs voted against his proposition with only Yaphyll, zulkir of Divination, abstaining to vote. Szass Tam immediately had the Order of Necromancy under his control alert the common folk that the beloved hero of Thay had be denied from ending their suffering. Riots erupted in the streets, which he also used to his advantage, taking control over garrison commanders and summoning demons to kill the rioters. The appearance of the Tanar'ri did nothing to behoove the reputation of Nevron's Order of Conjuration, as they believe his servant had summoned the demons to fight. Szass Tam appeared all over the city to quell the fighting, endearing him to the people even more. Soon afterword, much of the undead force had been destroyed and the nighthaunt and Angel of decay leaders had been obliterated along with much of the Burning Braziers, the later thanks to the rigged magical torches he had given them, Szass tam openly declared himself ruler of all Thay, thus declaring war against the remaining zulkirs of Thay. Hell had come to Thay. Category:History